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LONELY TEARDROPS Jackie Wilson
“Lonely Teardrops” tells the amazing, endlessly dramatic tale of Jackie Wilson, known then and still remembered as “Mr. Excitement” for his style of Motown music and startling dance moves (often imitated by other significant entertainers, like Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson).
Amount Request$30,000,000 USD
Project Summary
This film covers the life story of famed singer Jackie Wilson as seen through the eyes of his daughter Sabrina.
Starting with nothing, Jackie was nevertheless hugely talented, sometimes in ways that were not accepted then. Of his many children, legitimate and illegitimate, Jackie had a special relationship with his daughter Sabrina.
He wrote one of his favorite songs, “Baby Workout” with Sabrina, referring to her struggles with the polio she’d be afflicted with since early childhood.
Though Sabrina was not told about the incident at the time, she later learned that when Sabrina was a young girl, Jackie had been accidentally shot by one of his girlfriends when he was trying to end their relationship. Though the incident was soon spun by his management to make Jackie appear to be a hero who saved an adoring fan from suicide, Jackie himself as seriously injured and carried the inoperable bullet near his spine for the rest of his life.
In spite of his injuries, Jackie was always devoted to his fans, and kept performing and dancing, through the following years, often taking Sabrina along with him to concerts. But more often Sabrina and her mother would be left waiting for Jackie’s infrequent visits and would have to watch Jackie on television instead, when he appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and other television shows.
Fortunately, all of Jackie’s wives and families got along and frequently attended barbeques hosted by his Aunt Belle in Chicago; generally, the whole group of families would wait in vain for Jackie to appear. But Jackie had a very generous side too, often performing in the hospitals and at other charity events.
After his son Jackie Jr., was shot and killed in 1970, in Detroit, Jackie as inconsolable. This still unsolved homicide, and the meds he was prescribed during this period, would be the beginning of Jackie’s downfall into drugs and alcohol.
During his gig at Dick Clark’s Traveling Oldies Revue in 1975, Jackie fell off the stage and into a large amount of equipment. The victim of a heart attack or stroke at this time, he was left severely brain damaged until his death 9 years later on January 21, 1984.
And thanks largely to Jackie’s music and dancing, Motown music survives to this day. He was and forever will remain known as Mr. Excitement.
Starting with nothing, Jackie was nevertheless hugely talented, sometimes in ways that were not accepted then. Of his many children, legitimate and illegitimate, Jackie had a special relationship with his daughter Sabrina.
He wrote one of his favorite songs, “Baby Workout” with Sabrina, referring to her struggles with the polio she’d be afflicted with since early childhood.
Though Sabrina was not told about the incident at the time, she later learned that when Sabrina was a young girl, Jackie had been accidentally shot by one of his girlfriends when he was trying to end their relationship. Though the incident was soon spun by his management to make Jackie appear to be a hero who saved an adoring fan from suicide, Jackie himself as seriously injured and carried the inoperable bullet near his spine for the rest of his life.
In spite of his injuries, Jackie was always devoted to his fans, and kept performing and dancing, through the following years, often taking Sabrina along with him to concerts. But more often Sabrina and her mother would be left waiting for Jackie’s infrequent visits and would have to watch Jackie on television instead, when he appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and other television shows.
Fortunately, all of Jackie’s wives and families got along and frequently attended barbeques hosted by his Aunt Belle in Chicago; generally, the whole group of families would wait in vain for Jackie to appear. But Jackie had a very generous side too, often performing in the hospitals and at other charity events.
After his son Jackie Jr., was shot and killed in 1970, in Detroit, Jackie as inconsolable. This still unsolved homicide, and the meds he was prescribed during this period, would be the beginning of Jackie’s downfall into drugs and alcohol.
During his gig at Dick Clark’s Traveling Oldies Revue in 1975, Jackie fell off the stage and into a large amount of equipment. The victim of a heart attack or stroke at this time, he was left severely brain damaged until his death 9 years later on January 21, 1984.
And thanks largely to Jackie’s music and dancing, Motown music survives to this day. He was and forever will remain known as Mr. Excitement.
Project Highlights
- Featuring: Chris Brown, Sheila E., and More!